THE LAUNCH OF B. BRAUN GENETICS KITS
SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT THE LAUNCH OF B. BRAUN GENETICS KITS
26 AUGUST 2022
PSC@HERITAGE, WISMA YEAP CHOR EE
YB Professor Dr. Ramasamy a/l Palanisamy
Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang
Dato’ Ooi Peng Ee
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Penang Science Cluster
Mr. Lam Chee Hong
President B. Braun Asia Pacific
Representatives of the PSC Board of Directors
Representatives of the B. Braun company
School leaders, teachers, and participants of the Genetics Kit by B. Braun program
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
Good afternoon everyone.
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to launch the Genetics Kits programme by B. Braun.
As most of you are readily aware, this year, 2022, marks a special milestone for our beloved state. This year is the 50th anniversary of the birth of Penang's electronics sector, and I am pleased to note that B. Braun is also celebrating its 50th anniversary of presence in Penang. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Lam and Mr. Braun on this great occasion.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Over the past 50 years of industrialization, our manufacturing sector has expanded remarkably. We have diversified beyond semiconductors to storage, instrumentation, solar, automation and medical devices industries. We are grateful to have B. Braun as the cornerstone of our medical devices sector, which is helping to expand the ecosystem both directly and indirectly.
Having multinational corporations like B. Braun establish a manufacturing facility in Penang surely has a number of positive ripple effects. The most evident is employment opportunities for our people. The jobs vary from operators to technicians, engineers, non-technical professionals and even regional managers, with plenty of room for career advancement.
Besides that, the secondary or indirect benefits most often include SME companies that provide MNCs with services such as automation, transportation, security, food, manufacturing supplies, or consumables. Greater significance arises when these local SME enterprises, which were first nurtured by the MNCs, develop into renowned local technology powerhouses that export their cutting-edge goods or services to businesses across the globe.
What I would like to focus on today, however, are the intangible benefits of MNCs presence in Penang. Most, if not all, MNCs aspire to be good corporate citizens. As part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities or CSR, companies such as B. Braun regularly conduct numerous programmes to benefit our local community.
Case in point is the Genetics Kits programme that we are launching today. These intangible programmes may not be apparent to many, but they are just as important, especially so when it involves educating our next generation.
The B. Braun Genetics Kit initiative, developed in partnership with Penang Science Cluster, aims to spark students' interest of students in Life Sciences and Genetics, of which the latter forms the basis of many future medical advancements such as personalized medicine.
Listening to Dato’ Ooi’s speech on the feedback received from this program, I can almost sense the excitement of our students as they get their hands on the Genetics Kits. Inspiring our young students in science and technology is crucial as they are the future talent that Penang greatly needs to support our industry.
In closing, I would like to thank B. Braun for collaborating with Penang Science Cluster to deliver this latest initiative to our secondary school students. I note that 1000 lower secondary school students and 600 Form 6 students will benefit from this programme.
In keeping with the state's STEM objectives, I hope that this important program will be expanded to impact more students every year.
With that, I wholeheartedly thank B. Braun and the Penang Since Cluster for their initiative, and hereby launch the B. Braun Genetics Kits programme.
Thank you.